Tobey’s Comments (group member since Nov 02, 2010)

Tobey’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

RwS

20.1 The Tattered Cover - Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

I wasn’t originally planning to re-read this again so soon but with my recent enjoyment of The Hunger Games, I was hungry for more (okay, pun intended!). I think I enjoyed this a bit more the second time around. I’d forgotten a lot of the story, which was good, so some of it was surprising to me, almost like it was the first time reading it. I find Katniss to be a very interesting character. Her loyalty never wavers but sometimes her “character” is what gets her into trouble in the first place. A very enjoyable second book in the trilogy.


+20 Task (http://bannedbooksweek.org/about)
+10 Review (Lexile of 820)

Task Total=30
Grand Total=200

RwS

20.8 It's Alphabetic - The Hunt For Atlantis by Andy McDermott (CDE in author's last name)

Nina wined, she cried, she moaned, she bit**ed, she complained and for me, she wasn’t the strong and brave heroine you normally root for. For those of you that like the adventure novels of Rollins and Brown, the premise of this one sounds fantastic but it really wasn’t – at least it wasn’t for me. It was a slogging and finally, finally picked up at about the 400 page mark and started to get really interesting. But it was too long gone by then and I finished it because I was over halfway through it by then. I cleared another one off my TBR and maybe even two as I’m on the fence about reading the second one…

+20 Task
+10 Review
+5 Jumbo (I hope I've listed the right edition, mine had 514 pages)

Task Total=35
Grand Total=170

RwS

10.5 Rooting for the Bad Guy - Caught Stealing by Charlie Huston (#43 on the third list)

Ok, I have to say I’m on the fence about this book. To me, Hank seems like a decent enough guy that’s had some rotten luck but has also made some poor choices due to the rotten luck. That streak just continues in this novel from what I can tell. I liked his character and Bud – loved Bud, but for me, it was just too “in your face” with the language and plot lines. I read a lot of action novels and this one was maybe just a bit much for me. I didn’t dislike it, but I certainly didn’t love it either and am not sure if I’ll read the next one or not.

+10 Task
+10 Review

Task Total=20
Grand Total=135

Not that it's particular to our task but here's some Canadian info...
http://freedomtoread.ca/docs/challeng...

Karen GHHS wrote: "Tobey wrote: "RwS

20.1 The Tattered Cover - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (http://bannedbooksweek.org/about)

This is the first time I’ve ever re-read a book f..."

Rebekah, I'm in Winnipeg in Manitoba Canada and I don't think their teacher is teaching it per se but with the movie coming out, there's a lot of hype surrounding it so many of her classmates and her teacher are reading it. In the end, we let her read it (she loved it) as her Dad and I thought she was mature enough to handle it. I find it interesting that many of these "questionable" books that kids are reading, their parents have no idea what they are about but to each their own.

RwS

20.1 The Tattered Cover - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (http://bannedbooksweek.org/about)

This is the first time I’ve ever re-read a book for a task in this group but I thought with the movie coming out this week (opening today in fact, I have tickets for Saturday), I thought it was a good time to re-read this one. Much of this review will be about the first time I read it and the struggles I’ve had with this book. Really, I’m not sure how much more can be said about it anyways.
When I first read this, I was floored! I was stupefied and aghast at the story and plot…but I also couldn’t put the book down! I read it in less than 24 hours and this second time wasn’t much different. It was just as good the second time around, and some of my initial reactions to the book had subsided. It is really enjoyable. Which is a good segue into my now 11 year old daughter asking to read the book when I originally did. Um, NO! It was no flat out. But now, the movie’s coming out, her friends are reading it, they’re reading it in school (really??) and I’m on a losing side here. I don’t feel it’s appropriate reading material at all for these 11 year olds and of course that’s who the stories are geared to and yet, not being 11, I bet they have a whole different perspective on the book than I do as a Mother. And the funny thing is, so many people are okay with the “violent” books but don’t let them read about sex. I’m torn inside and I struggle with it and I could go on and on but I won’t. But I did love this book.

+20 Task
+5 Combo (20.4 - uh, unless you've been living under a very large rock, you know this is opening tonight)
+10 Review (Lexile 810)

Task Total=35
Grand Total=115

RwS

10.8 It's A Family Affair - Sister: A Novel by Rosamund Lupton

When I picked this book up to read it, I had no expectations for what it would be like other than it satisfied a task for this challenge. I mean, it was on my TBR because I thought the description sounded interesting. I was pleasantly surprised and pleased at how much I did enjoy this one. It was well written, though I found that there was a time during the middle of the story that it did drag a bit but not too much. There were some surprises that left me with an out loud “oh!” but I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who likes thrillers or something along that genre.

+10 Task
+10 Review

Task Total=20
Grand Total=80

Rebekah wrote: "Tobey wrote: "RwS

10.9 Please Sir, I Want Some More - Holiday in Death by J.D. Robb

I went back to the future for this one! Robb’s futuristic world is, for all its advancemen..."

Unfortunately this book in the series has no off planet travel and if there was, I can't use combo points for task 10.9. :-(

RwS

10.9 Please Sir, I Want Some More - Holiday in Death by J.D. Robb

I went back to the future for this one! Robb’s futuristic world is, for all its advancements in technology, is a comfortable one to read about – at least for me it is. Admittedly, the stories are a tad predictable but what makes them so enjoyable is Robb’s character development. As the series progresses, you’re really getting to know Eve, Roarke (and let’s get it out there, who doesn’t want to know more about Roarke?) and you’re also getting to know the supporting cast and not just on the surface level. She’s really developing them into real people that you develop opinions about. These are the kinds of things that will keep me coming back to read yet another book in a series.

+10 Task
+10 Review

Task Total=20
Grand Total=60

I don't think this website has been posted yet:

http://bannedbooksweek.org/about

I came across this in my inquiry as to whether The Hunger Games has been banned or challenged.

I saw the page numbers were added, thanks Elizabeth!

Hmm, okay thanks. Same ISBN#, different cover (I linked to the edition with my cover that doesn't list the page numbers). It's all good!

Hello, is it possible to still ask for changes to book links? I have Holiday in Death (ISBN # 9780425163719) at 326 pages (308 if you don't include the preview for the next book). Thanks!

RwS

10.10 Group Reads - Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent is my first ever group reads book and I’m so glad that I finally picked it up to read it. Dystopian fiction is a fascinating genre but I don’t always fall in love with it. While I absolutely loved The Hunger Games, I was very meh about The Maze Runner and so I went into this novel not sure what to expect. I did enjoy the story very much. I’m always fascinated with the kinds of world’s people can imagine and put into a believable story. In fact, some aspects of the novel are a bit too believable for my tastes but any novel that leaves me thinking about it afterwords and patiently waiting for the next book must have something going for it!

+10 Task
+10 Review

Task Total=20
Grand Total=40

RwS

10.3 Girl's Names - Cherry Bites by Alison Preston (Cherry is the first name of the protagonist)

I’ve had this book on my TBR for quite some time and thought I would get to read it in the winter challenge but the mood didn’t quite strike me whenever I looked at it. Alison Preston is a local author born and raised in Winnipeg and what I liked about this book so much was that the story was set right here in Winnipeg, where I too was born and raised so the setting really brought the book alive for me. I could clearly picture where the many parts of this story took place and I really enjoyed this story with interesting characters and the fascinating relationships they shared.

+10 Task
+10 Review

Task Total=20
Grand Total=20

So I'm curious....how does everyone keep track of their points for each season's challenge? I use google docs but seem to keep screwing things up and I wonder how everyone else does it. I can't even fathom how Liz does it!

RwS

10.6 The Uncommon Letter - 77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz

I was about 14 when I read The Omen at a friend’s cabin on an island way in the middle of nowhere. I must’ve run out of other books to read. It was my first “horror” novel and I didn’t pick up another one until many, many years later as it spooked me that much. When I did though, it was Dean Koontz that I was drawn too. It was one of paranormal type horror books and I loved it and proceeded to read pretty much everything he’s written since, except for the last few years when I haven’t always immediately read his newest novels.
77 Shadow Street had an interesting fascinating concept and a large cast of characters. It entertained me, it made me think but I didn’t fall in love with it like some of his others and I can’t really say why. For any Koontz fans out there there, you will enjoy it and might I add that the next Odd book is due out this summer…..yeehaw!!


+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (20.6 - at least half of this book takes place in 2049)

Task Total=25
Grand Total=365pts

Task 10.9 11 in '11 - Bad Luck And Trouble by Lee Child (this is the 11th book in the Jack Reacher series)

If there’s one thing I’ve learned after reading 11 Jack Reacher novels is that you don’t want to get on the wrong side of Reacher. Don’t mess with the special investigation unit. I found this not to be my favorite Reacher novel so far. I think it takes on a different tone because Reacher is working with former colleagues of his in the Army and I just found it to be not the same. It was still Reacher doing what he does best, being larger than life but there was something about it that I can’t quite put my finger on that made me not love it. It’s me, not him, we need a break from each other. It’s not the 7 year itch, ith’s the 11. Perhaps he’s not attracted to me anymore as I am to him, I just don’t know. I’ll need to take some time…

+10 Task
+10 Review

Task Total=20
Grand Total=350

Task 20.10 Play the Numbers - The Next Always by Nora Roberts (published 2011)

I have a serious love/hate relationship with Nora Roberts. For the most part, I totally love her books! She has a real knack for creating stories and characters that are believable and likable and leave you wanting more. That’s where the hate part comes in and hate is such a strong word and of course I don’t mean it. What I do dislike is reading the first book in a trilogy when the next book hasn’t even been published yet. I don’t like that, not at all. But of course, I enjoyed this novel like I know I will enjoy the next two in this trilogy when they are released. A quick enjoyable read that's highly entertaining with a lot of laugh out loud lines!

+20 Task
+10 Review

Task Total=30
Grand Total=330

Task 10.5 Underrated - Bastion Falls by Susie Moloney (14 ratings on GR)

Well this wasn’t all that and a bag of chips! I had high hopes after reading Moloney’s newest novel The Thirteen and really enjoying it. She’s a local author, born here in Winnipeg, so I’m always interested in local talent. One thing I will say: there was snow and a lot of it. I started to see white so if this was the intention, it worked. And the novel started off well, with a good story developing and how she introduced us to the main characters to get us into it…but somewhere in the middle, if fell off for me, like the whole point of the novel got lost. I found the ending to be anticlimactic and I was kind of relieved when it was over. Overall, I was somewhat disappointed.

+10 Task
+5 Combo (20.7 - Author is from Canada)
+10 Review

Task total=25
Grand Total=300